Swapping magnet in a 57/08. Which one?

[Basauri]

Hi everyone!

I´m not a fan of changing pickups because I like to leave my guitars as stock as possible, but usually I tend to swap magnets to drive the sound to my needs. I had good results swapping my SC245s alnico V to alnico IV to make them more vintage sounding, surprinsinly good results swapping my Burstbuckers I & II from alnico II to alnico IV making them more open sounding and punchier.
And here I have my McCarty with 57/08s, with a lovely neck tone but a "too PAFy" sound. I would like to give her more punch in the bridge position but without changing the caracter of the stock one. My MC has an inner "brighty" sound and I suspect that alnico IV will add more punch but will accentuate that treble nature due to the flat EQ of this magnet. On the other hand, alnico V will add even more punch but will accentuate high end and low end, giving the guitar a, maybe too much for my taste, more modern sound (scooping some mids)

Is there here any magnet master to help me with this issue?

Thank you!

 

[sergiodeblanc]

John Beef is probably the guy to ask over here.

 

[BrianC]

From your post it sounds like IV is your sweet spot. The winds are different so it will have its own vibe.

 

[Basauri]

Yes it is. I really like their transparency (flat eq) because let the guitar sound by itself.
But here, I'm not sure if I want to let it be as bright as it is. It's not like a strat, but my MC sounds far from the thick tones of my SCs.
I know that alnico v thickens the bottom end and punches hard, but their eq lack of mids and that will sound less... classic, for blues rock stuff.

John Beef I invoque you!

 

[garrettb]

I think you're on the right track. Magnets are cheap, so buy some A4 and some A5 and have at it! Maybe grab some unoriented A5 for good measure.

Generically speaking, I seem to like A4 in the bridge (less honky than A2, not as bright as A5) and A5 in the neck (brighter, scooped mids). That's where I'd start, based on the details given.

Looking forward to hearing about the results!

 

[yankeebulldog]

A4 is where it's at for me. I have a few WCR sets that either had an A4 or I replaced it with one.

 

[John Beef]

Aw, shucks. It's nice to be wanted.

Well, the official specs say Alnico 2, so your starting point is bigger in the mids and softer in the highs and lows. If you're not looking for something drastic, you might try a roughcast unoriented alnico 5. Generally speaking these tend to have the best qualities of both A5 and A2, punchy in the mids but more extended lows and highs without being too bassy or bright. It shouldn't alter the tone to an extreme, but it might give you that little sumpin sumpin you've been looking for. I really like A4 in neck pickups but it find it a little sharp/spikey in the high frequencies on the bridge pickup, but that could be exactly what you're looking for? Sometimes the vocabulary is tough on forums; words like punchy can mean several things.

 

[Basauri]

You're right. I'll try to be more specific.
I like the tone, the sound, the eq paramters, the "colour" of my bridge pickup, but I'd like it to be more ballsy. More powerful when riffing, punchier with palm mutes or harder attack to the string.
I understand that a MC will never have the same punch as a SC because the hog thickness is thinner, but this 57/08 are such good PAF replicas that aren't meant to be "angrier"

 

[John Beef]

OK, yeah, maybe the UAO5 magnets are your speed. That's my best suggestion.

I put one of those in an older SE humbucker and sent it off to a pickups shootout @crgtr did several years ago. It hung in there pretty well.

 

[CatStrangler]

very interested in this experiment please post your results!